And more specific:Today, all people use Windows Explorer for management of files and folders. A common problem with new programs such as MS Groove, MS Sharepoint, etc etc, is that I takes time and resources to learn, implement and use.

Finding time and spending resources on teaching new systems for an organization is a huge investment, (the course of learning it is only the top of the iceberg), using common tools for the most used and common actions would decrease the barrier for using projectplace.

The idea is:

1. Make it possible to add projectplace as network location or map it as a drive in Windows Explorer (or Finder for those who are using MAC).

2. Install a plugin so that when you right click a document you get the same options that you get when using Projectplace. So when right clicking a document from projectplace (being a network location or drive), you get the option of "open", "open and lock", and other features etc, and version management is taken care of through a pop-up window after a document have been changed where you could add comments. The pop-up window would come from the same plugin, and would feature the functionality that is already in Projectplace, and which makes it to a great tool.

Summary:This way the barrier for using Projectplace, the need for having more windows open or learning to use new tools, is limited to an environment inside Windows Explorer as an start. You could maybe also add even more features to the right click button when it notices it is a projectplace document, adding shortcuts to the right click function, such as some of the functions only available inside Projectplace.

But for a starter: Being able to add Projectplace as network drive / location without loosing the ability to lock and projectplace keeping track of version management, would decrease the barrier for using projectplace and a great improvment for effectivisation.

As a document management consultant the main reason I see new tools fail is not the features or the User Interface but the inability of the organisation to change existing bad habits.

Windows Explorer like any file system encourages bad behaviour. The same it true for Sharepoint which can also be mapped as a Network drive. Most organisations choose not to set up Sharepoint in this way because of the issues it creates in the long run.

I would also argue that the Project Place interface can be learnt within a matter of hours. However, proper training \ change management is needed regardless of system used to ensure best practice document management techniques are followed.

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I do not disagree with your point of view, however, for companies working and managing several projects, Project Place comes to short if you don't start to log in and out as different user from your different accounts. Having the POSSIBILITY to add ProjectPlace as a part of Windows Explorer, will for advanced users, especially managing several projects, increase the efficiency and ensure best practice. It's a matter of preference as well.

The issues that occur that you mention, created using Sharepoint in Windows Explorer in the long run is also most likely due to "bad habits", which in the same way as the ProjectPlace plugin can be learned to avoid in minutes of you already is a user of Sharepoint.

Don't get me wrong, I have experience with Sharpoint - but I like and use ProjectPlace more. But when running several projects, it is a barrier to change account each time I change between projects - which can be several times a day. Please keep the ProjectPlace plugin - my suggestion is to add the functionality of having it in Windows Explorer for those who feel comfortable with that, especially when running several projects. In sharepoint this is easy - using the projectplace plugin changing between several projects is not that easy... And finally when uploading several files, or other similar actions requiring Windows Explorer open too, it would be nice to manage everything in Windows Explorer those times, instead of needing to change between different Projectplace windows ;)

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Hi,

The reason is because the project initiators (4 different companies) have given me separate e-mail addresses and access to their respective projectplace accounts. I've merged two accounts into one account before, which was owned by two separate companies that have merged today. But for the other companies / projects, where I use Projectplace, being completly independent and in different sectors, I have not done so as it hasn't felt "normal" to do so. I feel I am on deep waters here now realizing that your 50 projects might be with completly different companies and associated with almost the same amount of different e-mail addresses... :/ If so, do all these project show up in the menu to the left inside projectplace?

If you tell me that, I am still going to ask for the possibility to integrate Projectplace as a network location in Windows Explorer ;)

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All the projects show up on the same login for me. It's important to remember that even if you get all your projects on one e-mail address, the other project members only see the projects that they are invited to.

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In the next development sprint we are starting development on something that could solve the need for offline access to documents in Projectplace. Early days yet, but I will keep you posted on the development.

I agree on the concept (accessing directly to project documents). An option could be (s)ftp access to the Documents directory of the project. User-side this is virtually universally supported on all platforms and easy to set up.

Is there any update on this? One of my team who is testing out using Projectplace for project management and document sharing has performed a mapping of the documents in widows via the web URL and it has had some funky consequences. Please advise.